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Featured Sites |
PeacePartners, Inc. honors our valued partners by celebrating their passion for peace, their
creative ideas, and the wonderful implementation strategies they incorporate.
As we continue to support our partners, it is our privilege to showcase PeaceBuilders sites.
Don't just take our word for it. Read about some featured sites as they explored their problems,
developed their PeaceBuilders solution, and discovered positive outcomes! We invite you to sit
back and explore the fantastic PeaceBuilding events happening throughout the United States and
U.S. Territories. |
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| Redmond Elementary School - Redmond, WA |
The staff and students at Redmond Elementary School have been PeaceBuilders so long the six principles are practically part of their genetic makeup.
They recite the PeaceBuilders pledge and sing the PeaceBuilders song everyday.
Speaking of the now intrinsic PeaceBuilding behavior at Redmond Elementary, Principal Janice Heid says, "...[Students] are given constant opportunities to put their words into action. And they receive positive reinforcement when they go out of their way to peacefully resolve conflicts or support a peer who is having a bad day. Kids see how every single thing they do, every day, increases or decreases the peace. They see that what they do makes a difference."
In regards to the recognition students get for their positive contributions, Principal Heid explains: "Teachers recognize kids for their excellence and every month we have a luncheon to honor these kids."
During their recent participation in the PeaceBuilders Collect Pennies for Peace™ campaign, students did a lion's share of the work. It was their job to publicize the campaign and to regularly collect donations from classrooms.
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Publicity Chairs Grace Mahan, Mahre Connor and Danuta Egle helped to coordinate and facilitate the Pennies for Peace campaign at Redmond Elementary.
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These wise young women talked to a reporter at the Redmond Reporter newspaper about their responsibilities during the campaign and as PeaceBuilders.
Mahre Connor spoke about her responsibility as a role model: "It's important for older children to set an example for younger kids, make it a better school and make things run more smoothly."
Danuta Egle added, "[PeaceBuilders is] really important in elementary school because it explains to little children from the start to have respect for other people and have them treated the same as you."
And speaking about her influence over younger students, Grace Mahan said, "...When I see little kids having an argument on the playground, I try to settle it. I ask what's wrong and try to calm them down. If that fails, I get a recess teacher to help. Sometimes kids who come from different schools, not PeaceBuilders schools, have to be educated. Then we can help them introduce the principles to others."
Danuta Egle was proud of her school's participation in Pennies for Peace. She said, "Getting this little town of Redmond to make a difference in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan really blows my mind."
And Grace Mahan was shocked at the disparity between the provisions and materials they have at Redmond compared to what less fortunate children have: "They're writing with sticks in the sand. They only have teachers three times a week. We have school six hours a day and all the supplies we need."
Being educated and nurtured at a PeaceBuilders school has helped develop feelings of empathy and a strong sense of responsibility in students at Redmond. This school was among the first to join the Pennies for Peace campaign and was our biggest donor.
But they're not done yet! Although the PeaceBuilders campaign officially ended on March 31, Ms. Marti Burton's 3rd /4th grade class continues to collect money. They just can't stop giving!
Albert Schweitzer said, "I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end." The students at Redmond Elementary have done more than a little. Their efforts have improved the lives of many young children in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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